Is Vermouth a Wine or a Liquor?

Ep 90

When you think of Vermouth do you think of it as just a mixer for your martini? 

Vermouth is actually a wine! Wine must make up at least 75% of the total volume of a Vermouth, so it is very much a wine!

From its ancient medicinal roots in 1050 BC China to its evolution in Italy as an aperitif, I’m diving into what Vermouth really is and why it’s so significant in the wine world. 

I’m digging into how Vermouth is crafted, the types of wine involved, and the unique botanicals that give Vermouth its distinctive flavors. Plus, I break down Vermouth from extra dry to sweet. And if you are curious about how to drink Vermouth, I’m covering that as well!

So, tune in and get ready to see Vermouth in a whole new way! 

Top Vermouth Producers:

Italy: Antica Formula, Cocchi, Martini, Cinzano, Chazalattes, Del Professore, Mauro Vergano, Punt e Mas, Bonme

France: Noilly Prat, Dolin Blanc Vermouth de Chambery, Quintinye Rouge Vermouth Royal, Harry Lester

Spain: El Bandarra, Casa Mariol Vermut Negre, Miro Rojo, Yzaguirre Rojo, Lustau, La Copa, St. Petroni Blanco Vermut, Atxa

Germany: Belsazar, Ferdinand’s

UK: Sacred, Asterley Bros, Wermod, Albourne Estate

USA: Quady Winery, Atsby, Ransom Dry, Imbue

Australia: Regal Rogue, Causes and Cures, Maidenii

To Learn More About Vermouth

Check out “A Spirited Guide to Vermouth” by Jack Adair Bevan

Jack is an award-winning food and drink writer and one of the first restaurateurs to make his own vermouth.

Includes history, production, how to drink it, and lots of cocktail recipes!

Episode Highlights:

• What is Vermouth?

• Is Vermouth a wine?

• The history of Vermouth

• Medicinal uses for Vermouth

• How is Vermouth made?

• What spices and herbs are in Vermouth?

• Common botanicals in Vermouth - Quassia, Star Anise, Bergamot orange, Cardamom, Galangal, St John’s Wort, Juniper, Wormwood, Cassia, Gentian

• Different styles of Vermouth

• How to drink Vermouth

Transcript

0:08

Welcome back to the Cork and Fizz Guide to Wine podcast. Now if you saw the title of today's episode and thought, hold up, I thought this was a wine podcast. What is she doing talking about vermouth? Well, then I am excited to share a fun fact with you. Vermouth is actually a type of wine and like it's it's not even just like has wine in it. Like wine is the most important ingredient in your vermouth. So I there are so many different types of vermouth from so many different regions. It is not just an ingredient in a martini. Now that is one of the ways vermouth became famous, but it is also delicious on its own, and you're gonna wanna know what type of vermouth to put in your martini because you could possibly mess that up. So I'm gonna tell you a little bit about what vermouth is, where it comes from, how it's made, why do we not always think of it as a wine, and then I'm gonna tell you about the different types. And we might even add a little bit about cocktails at the end of this. I know it's a wine podcast, but this is one of those wines that is often used in cocktails, so maybe it'll be fun to talk about. So be sure to I was gonna say grab a glass of wine, but let's be real. Most of the time when we're listening to these podcasts, if you're anything like me, you're driving a car, walking around doing something. So maybe not a glass of wine right now, but just lean back and enjoy listening all about vermouth. Okay. So the first question, what is vermouth? Like, before I did any research on this, I could not have told. I was like, it's a beverage, it's a drink. That's that's all I know. So here's what vermouth is. Vermouth is an a vermouth is an aromatized and fortified wine. Aromatized means that the wine has been flavored with things like fruit, spices, botanicals, and florals. Fortified, remember it's aromatized and fortified, and so fortified means that the wine is topped up with stronger alcohol to pause the fermentation process. This is the same thing that happens with port style wines. Right? So we stop the fermentation process. A lot of times it's to keep the sweetness in, so that we can keep a little bit of that sugar, but then keep that high alcohol as well. So vermouth is aromatized and fortified. It is also considered an aperitif wine. Aperitif derives from the Latin, which is the verb to open in the sense of opening up the appetite. It's something that is often drink before a meal. Now all true aperitifs now all true aperitifs carry a bittersweet character that stimulates the production of gastric juices. I know that sounds gross, but it promotes an appetite, which is why you like to have an aperitif before you have your meal. Now a vermouth must be, how do I wanna say this? Wine must make up at least 75% of the total volume of a vermouth. So like I said, it is significantly very much so vermouth is a wine. Now vermouth used to require something called wood. I don't have it written right here. Just a second, Liz. Sorry. I think it's wormwood, but I need to look it up. Yeah. Okay. Now vermouth, in order to be called the vermouth, used to require a, what do you wanna call it, like an aromatic or a plant addition called wormwood. But after 1991, they simply require a member of the Artemisia species, which wormwood is one of the members there, but there are 400 possible members. And the thing is I'm saying they, but to be specific, I'm pretty sure this is just in Europe. US does not even require you put a member of that Artemisia species into the vermouth to call it 1. They kinda just go, well, does it taste like a vermouth? Does it seem like a vermouth? Great. It's a vermouth, so not really strict regulations there. And then again, I believe this is a regulation in Europe. It must have an alcohol percentage between 14.5 22%. That is high. Okay? Keep in mind, you're not pouring yourself multiple glasses of vermouth at night just to enjoy unless you really wanna hang over the next morning. Okay. The coolest thing I think about vermouth well, I don't know. There's so many cool things about it, but the history is it goes back aways, and there's so much fun stuff. And, you know, I am a nerd for wine history, so buckle up. We're gonna talk about it. Vermouth is descended from a drink that has deep sacred and medicinal significance. In the last 20 years that archeologists have identified wines dating back to 1050 BC in China that are called Chang Wines. Wormwood was among their herbal ingredients which means that vermouth could potentially date back all the way to 10 50 bc. There were also Indian herbal wines that were also noted to include wormwood. Then moving forward a bit still very long time ago in 400 BC, Hippocrates had been cited as having added wormwood to wine. This was known as Hippocratic wine or venom adsyntheum. This was called upon to host this was called upon to treat all host of ailments. So again, we're talking about this medicinal significance that vermouth has. Romans are credited with the first comprehensive recipe. Goodness. I can't talk today. Romans are credited with the 1st comprehensive recipe for wormwood wine, AKA our vermouth, in Pliny the elders naturalist Historia in 77 AD. Pliny also wrote of religious rights and chariot races where wormwood wine was given as a prize of health. So you can see here where it's sort of it's still being used, right, it's a prize of health, but in the sense it's kind of transitioning from medicine to a pleasurable tonic, for these herbal wines. Now jumping forward quite a bit jumping into the 1300, Wormwood wine acquired its next crucial element, and that is spirit. It is the fortifying element. Villanueve realized that adding a spirit to wine could stop fermentation and preserve the natural sweetness left by the unfermented grape juice. We wanted that. Right? We want a little bit of sweetness. Now jumping forward again to 1555, a man named Giolomo Rusccelli, who went by Alessio of Piedmont, so we're over in Italy now, that Villanueva also should've given that away, wrote a book. So this was, Giolamo Rusccelli or Alessio of Piedmont. He wrote a book that ratified the belief that herbs could battle illness. So after this, they started to manufacture aromatized wine from his home in Venice. And from here, his recipes stretched to the port of Genoa in the Dutch of Savoy region in Piedmont. The capital of Piedmont, Reno, created a perfect vermouth capital. So when we talk about vermouth, a lot of people think of Piedmont and think of Torino. This is close to the, historic winemaking regions. Right? We're in Piedmont. We're by Barolo. We're by the area where Moscato dei Asti is made. They've got plenty of access to great wine, plus they have great access to spices pouring in from Genoa, and it's also regarded so Torino Piedmont is also regarded as the home of the aperitivo. Right? Having a drink before your meal. So this was a perfect place for vermouth to find its home. Now in 17/86, we're going about 200 years later, Antonio Benedetto Carpano created the 1st commercial vermouth from Muscato. Remember, we're in the Piedmont region. There's plenty of Moscato here, and he combined that Moscato with 30 different botanicals. Now, here's where we get into the name of vermouth because I haven't mentioned that yet where that name. Right? Before it was just it's a wormwood wine. Right? That's what we're calling it. So he named this Antonio guy, named his commercial vermouth vermouth. I'm probably not saying that right because I don't speak German. It's the German word for rum wood. And if you're wondering why German, how does Germany come into this? No one's quite sure because Germany doesn't make a lot of vermouth. So and and Antonio didn't really have a connection, to Germany in any way. Obviously, his name sounds incredibly Italian. He's Italian. But some believe it was a cunning nod to the ducosavoys closeness with the holy Roman Empire, which was Germany at the time because the duke loved Vermouth. So he's like, yeah, might as well get in his favor. Let's call it Vermut. There. That sounded more German, didn't it? But it's spelled with the w. It's w e r m u t. So that's essentially where that name and where the term vermouth comes from. Apparently, it derives from the German word. Who would have thunk it? Okay. Moving forward, 18/13, the first dry style, meaning no sugar left behind, of vermouth was created by Joseph Neuilly. It's probably Neuilly. I don't think you pronounce 2 l's when they're next to each other. Joseph Neuilly. Let's see here. Meanwhile so that was 18/13. Meanwhile, around the same time, vermouth became popular in Spain where it was called vermouth. They began to import from Italy first into Barcelona, but then they're like, heck, we can make this ourselves. So in the town of Rios in Catalonia, there were a whopping 30 vermouth producers during the 19th 20th centuries. Now we're skipping forward again. We're getting closer to the present day. In 18/62, you have the world's first cocktail book, how to mix drinks. The bon vivance companion by Jerry Thomas was published. He was the chap that coined the term mixologist, which really surprised me because I kinda thought that was, like, a 21st century thing that, like, us millennials came up with, but, no, that's been around since 18/62. Now between 18/67/18/89, the company GNL Cora, who would later become Martini and Rossi does that name sound familiar? If you're a vermouth drinker, it should. Shipped over 600,000 liters of vermouth, across the country, mainly to the US. Now the first martini recipe, right, we're talking cocktails, so now we gotta start talking about martinis, was published by Thomas', this first book book's author. It was actually his rival who wrote this book, and this was Harry Johnson who came up with the or not wrote the book, but Harry Johnson came up with the 1st martini recipe. And he actually first used sweet vermouth. Though now when you're making a martini, you would stick to a dry vermouth. And don't worry if you're like, what the heck is the difference? What are these different vermouths? We're gonna talk about that later in the episode. He called so Harry Johnson called this martini a martini because of Martini and Rossi who dominated the vermouth world. Now, of course, anything in the US when we're talking alcohol all gets halted in 1920, in the 19 twenties because of prohibition. The problem is that the focus here then turned to boozy bootleg spirit. It was quantity over quality. And these professionals, these people who are writing cocktail books, who are coming up with new cocktails, who are, you know, coming up with new ways to enjoy different drinks, they don't exist. You can't be a professional cocktail maker when alcohol is illegal. It wasn't until the end of 19 eighties when we really started to see another boom again for vermouth. This is the start of what a lot of people call the craft cocktail movement. There was a Britain drinks, a British drinks legend, Dick Bradsell, who created the espresso martini. So, again, we're bringing back vermouth, but primarily as a component of a cocktail. Then, of course, you have cult status of Negroni cocktails in more recent years, introducing people to a sweet vermouth. Plus, people are looking to drink lighter cocktails. Now we're coming into completely present day. Right? People are looking to have lower alcohol, and despite the fact that vermouth has higher alcohol than wine, it has lower alcohol than most spirits, like if you're gonna add vodka or tequila to your drink. So if you're thinking of having something lower alcohol, having something that is vermouth based rather than gin or vodka or tequila is actually lower alcohol. Okay. Now next question, if you're anything like me, is great. That's where vermouth comes from. How the heck do they make it? So the thing is that every producer's full recipe for their vermouth is kept a secret. But the general process, you're gonna start with wine or mistelle. And I'm gonna tell you what mistelle is in just a second. Then you're either going to fortify the wine goodness, I can't talk. Then you're either going to fortify the wine with distillate and macerate the fortified wine with herbs and spices. So macerate again is when you're just gonna let it sit with all of those herbs and spices and let them sink in, or you're gonna combine the spirits and the herbs and spices to create a distillate to fortify the wine. So it's basically, do you fortify the wine first, and then macerate it with all the herbs and spices, or do you combine the herbs and spices with the higher spirit that distillate and then fortify the wine? Makes sense? And then there's usually some aging that happens in barrels for some amount of time. I'm being super general here because that's that's essentially the general recipe. Now I did, there's this really great book that I read where I got a lot of this information. I'm gonna mention it later on in the podcast. But in this book, they mentioned 2 different producers and their more in-depth recipe. Again, this is not gonna be a full recipe. They would never give that away. But diving into, there's a French producer called Noy Prat. This is based off of Joseph Noyes, who created the first dry vermouth. I believe this is the same producer coming through here. This is a vermouth that is made in Lilonguedot, which is just a few streets from the Mediterranean Sea. We're in southern France. They use 3 wines, pique pool, plaret, and a mistel made from muscat grapes. I remember I told you what a I was gonna tell you what a mistel was. Mistel is essentially grape juice or grape must, either fresh or produced at the starting phase of fermentation. And then that is fortified to arrest it or stop fermentation altogether. So, basically, it's either grape juice or very, very, very early wine. Pique Pool and Claret are fortified with a neutral distillate to 18 16%, respectively, and then aged in oak barrels outside, that's important, for 1 year. They're uncovered so that they can take on the salinity of the surrounding air and they can also oxidize. Remember, we're really close to the Mediterranean Sea here. The inspiration for this actually came from positive effect on the wine's character when it was transported on sailing ships. Now at the same time, right, this this producer uses 3 different wines to make this vermouth. So 2 of them are outside in our oak barrels aging. At the same time, the mistel wines made from the muscat grapes are maturing for a similar length of time just inside. Then the wines from the outside and the mistel are blended together and fortified with a raspberry and lemon distillate. Then around 20 aromatic herbs and spices are added to the blended wines, and then that begins a 3 week maceration period with the vermouth regularly stirred by hand. Right? These are in-depth recipes. Now the other one that we have a little more information on are the, is the Italian producer Martini and Rossi. Now they use 2 different processes to extract flavor from their botanicals, so their herbs and their spices and the stuff they put in the vermouth. 1 is a copper pot distillation, and then the second is a maceration of the botanicals in vats of high proof alcohol. And I'll talk about why that high proof is kind of important in a second. They combine the distillates and extract with wine, alcohol, sugar, and caramel. Yes. You can add caramel to a vermouth, and then they have a complex resting period before bottling. Now a couple notes on making vermouth, and in this this will kinda hit on some of the things we've talked about. First of all, sugar or caramel can be added to vermouth to make it sweeter. The sweetness does not have to come from grape juice. That caramel will also help give the wine a darker color many times. Alcohol that is chosen to fortify the wine is traditionally grape based, but it does not have to be. Let's see here. There's also producers typically try to stay as local as possible with their ingredients. Many producers choose to macerate botanicals and spirits before adding them to the wine. And this so this is this has to do with that high proof that I talked about earlier. This is because the high alcohol of the spirit extracts more flavor from the botanicals. So you could do it in the wine, but the extraction rate, so like getting all of the aroma from, let's say, the fresh herbs you put in or the fresh fruit, you know, that extraction rate isn't usually as good. It's not wrong. It's just different. If you want a lot of flavor out of something, you're gonna wanna put it in a higher alcohol, liquid, I guess. But also, there's another thing they have to keep in mind while they're making their vermouth. Each botanical macerates for varying lengths of time. Each botanical macerates for varying lengths of time. So some fresh herbs can only macerate for, like, an hour or so. Otherwise, they get this, like, stewed vegetal flavor going on versus some dried spices would benefit from weeks of macerating in the alcohol. So they really have to keep an eye on this. Now when it comes to what wine they use when they're making vermouth, this is probably like the lesser important thing, which is kind of the one thing where it's like, well, we're talking about wine, Haley. We are. And these are all really well made complex wines, but the starting wine that they use isn't necessarily the most important. I think the thing that's most important when you're making a vermouth are those spices and herbs and botanicals that you're adding. And that's actually where I think that sense of place, that idea kind of of terroir actually comes more from the herbs and spices that you're adding to the vermouth and less so the starting wine that you get. Right? So in Italy, they're gonna use things like the Muscat grape and Cortese and Nebbiolo Trebbiano. In France, they might use uni blanc, which is also Trebbiano in Italy, Claret, Peak Pool. In Spain, they're gonna use a lot of the grapes that they use for either sherry, or for cava. So Macabeo, Jarello, sherry, also tempranillo. In the US, I've seen everything from chardonnay, riesling, gewurztraminer, orange muscat. Right? So in Australia, they're using Semillon, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc. So you can make this vermouth with lots of different types of wines. The exciting part is the herbs and spices. So I'm not gonna bore you by going through all of the herbs and spices because there are a lot. There are hundreds of different spices, barks, fruits, roots, and herbs that can be added to vermouth. But I thought it'd be fun to share just a few to to give you an idea here on where they come from and what they can taste like potentially, and what they were used for at some point as a health thing. Right? The so the vermouth started as a medicinal drink. So let's just I'll just go I'm just gonna pick a few of them here, and we're gonna chat about them. So starting off with Quasiia. Quasiia is spelled q u a s s I a. I feel like I have 3 s's written in my notes and that can't be right. That's definitely a typo. So this is actually a large tree that is native to South America and it has been used to treat indigestion and as an antimalarial. It is extremely, extremely bitter. Another one that you might find in vermouth star anise. This is native to parts of Vietnam and China. It is the fruit of the anise plant picked and dried before it fully ripens. I always just thought it was like the pretty shape that had made it star anise, but the difference between star anise and regular anise is that it's picked early and dried before it ripens. It is a compound or it contains a compound called anethole, which is believed to treat coughs, flu, and digestive issues. One of the key flavors, of star anise is a hint of black licorice. Another common spice, bergamot orange, which originate in the Mediterranean is a hybrid of lemon and bitter orange. It has been used as an antibacterial agent and is associated with treatment of heart disease in traditional medicine. The oil made from this fruit is also a key flavor in earl grey tea, which I love. And honestly, I'm convinced earl grey tea smells like fruit loops. Like, please tell me if you think differently, but I I think this bergamot smells a lot like like the milk left behind after you've had Froot Loops. According to my notes, the bergamot tastes acidic, spicy, floral, but I'm convinced it's, it's Froot Loop milk. Also, things you can put in your vermouth. Cardamom. Right? This is native to southern India. It's sweet, spicy, has its menthol aroma. You will see it mostly in masala chai blends. You could also see cassia. This is native to China. It is a cheaper alternative to cinnamon with a similar flavor and aroma. There's galangal. This is a dried root stock of a plant native to China, very similar to the root of ginger. It is different in flavor though. It's still spicy, but maybe a little soapy with a cardamom element to it. Another common one is called Saint John's wort. It is native to the temperate regions of Europe and Asia. Now when you see wart, if you're anything like me, you're like, that seems like something I don't want to ingest. Why is it called wart? Wort is a is actually Anglo Saxon for medicinal herb, which is why you see that a lot when talking about different herbs used in medicine. It's not a bad thing. It's not like a wart that you'd find on your finger or something. It just seems medicinal, case you're curious. But both the leaves and the flowers of Saint John's wort can be used in vermouth. The leaves have, like, a balsamic aroma when they're crushed, and a flavor that is lightly spiced. Juniper is also something. This is the primary flavor in gin. To me, it smells a lot like pine. It has that tree kind of smell. This is a plant that grows throughout Europe, Northern Asia, and North Africa. And then, of course, we couldn't end our conversation about the herbs without talking about wormwood. This is the ingredient that was traditionally required in vermouth no longer, but there are different types of wormwood. You have Roman, grand, Chinese, far more beyond that. Traditionally used to improve digestion and treat skin infections and apparently kill parasites too. The flavors often describes as cocoa nibs without the sugar or like chewing on raw coffee beans. Now, again, of course, all of these herbs might be a little intense on their own, but we're putting them in the wine and oftentimes with some sugar as well. Okay. The last thing I think we need to talk about are the different styles of vermouth. So first there's different sweetness levels. So I'm gonna I'm gonna break it down into like 2 kind of parts here because the styles are a little confusing and I'm still kinda wrapping my head around them. So first, let's talk about different levels of sweetness. 1st, there's, so we're gonna go from extra dry, which is less than 30 grams per liter of sugar. 30 grams is still a lot, but when we're talking about vermouth, it gets much higher. So hold on. Extra dry. That is our driest least amount of sugar. Then we're gonna go to dry. This is less than 50 grams per liter of sugar. In the middle, we have semi dry. This is 50 to 90 grams per liter of sugar. Going up our sweetness scale we have semi sweet which is 90 to 130 grams per liter of sugar, and then finally sweet at the very top is a 130 grams per liter of sugar in our vermouth. So just to compare Coca Cola, sweetness levels per liter. Okay. That is a 106. Okay. So just to compare in case it helps, thinking about, like, Coca Cola. Coca Cola is about a little over a 100 grams per liter of sugar. So it's somewhere it's in that semisweet category. So your sweet is gonna be very sweet, but, again, you're not usually drinking, like, a massive glass of that. You're having a sip of it either as an aperitif or after your meal as a digestif. Now with those different levels, so there's right at the very bottom, extra dry, least amount of sugar, dry, semi dry, semi sweet, and sweet. There's also generally considered to be about 3 different styles. So first, there's dry vermouth, and this is separate from just, like, the different sweetness terms. It is the dry sugar level, so it has less than 50 grams per liter of sugar. It is usually light or straw colored, and it is traditionally known as French vermouth because this is where this style was first made. Now there's also white vermouth, and here's the thing. Dry vermouth is usually white, but then there's also white vermouth. This has an unspecified sugar level, but it's usually sweet, usually light in color and less bitter than our sweet style, which is our 3rd style of vermouth, sweet vermouth, aka red or rose vermouth. It's not always wine that is giving it the color. It can be caramel, but it is usually a darker red or brown color. And this is traditionally known as Italian vermouth because they are the ones that made this kind of style and made it popular. The thing is with these different styles of vermouth, it could be a bit confusing, because while vermouth is usually a style or hold on. Because white vermouth is usually a style of sweet vermouth and is generally less bitter than sweet red vermouth. However, white vermouth can be dry, and dry vermouth is usually white. Is that confusing? It is really confusing. A lot of producers, one of them being Giancarlo Mancino of Mancino Vermouth, have actually made an effort over the years to refer to white vermouth as sweet white and their sweet vermouth as sweet red just to make it very clear. So definitely look up the bottle when you are trying to decide what to buy. It might not be always super apparent. I've also heard of rose vermouth. Lots of different styles out there, but in general, red vermouth or rose vermouth is a sweet vermouth. It's gonna have the the sweetness along with the bitterness, but it's gonna be a little more bitter versus a white vermouth is usually sweet, usually not as bitter, versus a dry vermouth is usually white in color, but it is dry as in there's no sugar. Hopefully, that kinda gives you gives you an idea. It at least gets you started. Okay. Last official thing to talk about is how to drink vermouth. So first, you could drink vermouth neat or on the rocks. Right? But we always want it chilled. That is one thing I saw. Like, you're always gonna wanna keep your vermouth in the fridge, keep it cold, or pour it over ice so that we have some chilled. We want it to be a cool temperature. This style, neat or on the rocks, is most common in Spain. They don't always like to mix it. They're just gonna have it on its own. The garnish is important though, so it is often garnished with an olive or a slice of orange in Spain. The tip when trying to figure out your garnish, taste the vermouth first, determine the flavor you like or that is most pronounced, then choose the garnish to enhance it or compliment that flavor. Then of course, you have the cocktail, which is most common in Italy. It is important to know what style of vermouth for your cocktail. For example, a Martini uses dry vermouth. A Negroni uses sweet vermouth. Manhattan, a sweet red vermouth. An Americano, a sweet vermouth. I also wanna share some top producers to try. I'm gonna leave them in the show notes for you rather than reading them all out loud because would just be a lot of me saying words that mean nothing to you, but be sure to check the show notes for all those different producers to be on the lookout for. And of course, to learn more, I wanted to mention the book that I learned a lot of this information from. It's called a spirited guide to vermouth. It was written by Jack Adair Bevan. Jack is an award winning food and drink writer and one of the first restaurant tours to make his own vermouth. So he includes all the information like history, production, how to drink it, and at the end of the book, there are lots of cocktail recipes. So I it's definitely it's gonna be a great coffee book, coffee table book. There we go. And just something fun to learn a little bit more about vermouth. So so what do you think? Oh, man. I, like, yelled that into the mic. Sorry, Liz. So what do you think? Vermouth is pretty darn cool, isn't it? I hope you give it a try and discover a bottle you really love. And, of course, if you know a wine lover in your life that would enjoy this podcast, please share it with them. Find your favorite episode and send it their way. Or, of course, take a screenshot right now. Post it on your social media. Be sure to tag Cork and Fizz. It would mean the world to me. Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. I release new episodes every Wednesday. In next week's episode, we'll be talking about one of the most up and coming wine regions of 2025, Croatia. This country is gorgeous and so diverse when it comes to wine. You'll find bright high acid whites from the seaside coastline and full bodied tannic reds from the sunny fields. There are over 130 indigenous grape varieties in Croatia. I unfortunately will not cover all a 130 in the podcast, but we'll get through a few of them and also talk about the multiple wonderful styles of wine that they make. Thanks again for listening. And if you wanna learn more about wine, come follow me at corkandfizz on Instagram. If you're interested in exploring new wines and joining the incredible and joining an incredible community of wine lovers, be sure to sign up for my virtual tasting club, the court crew. This episode was actually inspired by a tasting that we had the end of December of 2024, where we learned all about vermouth and tried 2 different styles, and then also did some different cocktails together. It was such a fun night, but it was such a great way to just get to taste together. You don't just have to listen to me talk when we're doing these tastings. We interact and have a lot of fun. So if you wanna give it a try, no pressure. You can come for your 1st month free. Just go to the courtcrew.com. It's a new address. If you've been listening to the podcast for a while, go to the courtcrew.com to learn more. And then if you sign up for a monthly, membership, you can use code wine 101 to get your 1st month free. And you're welcome to cancel whenever, but I don't know. I'd love it if you stuck her out and had some fun. Alright. Cheers.